Farr 40 ‘Estate Master’ Blitzes the Field in Short Ocean Racing Championship

Estate Master competes in SSORC. Picture by Craig Greenhill/SALTWATERIMAGES

The Estate Master team demonstrated their finely tuned skills in a mixed bag of weather conditions from light airs to gusty 25 knot winds. Day One of the Championship was comprised of the Seven Islands Race, which took the fleet from Middle Harbour to Spectacle Island (off Birkenhead Point) and back again. The race commenced with a handicap start, leaving Estate Master already miles behind the fleet as the scratch boat.

“We started dead last in really light air and caught the entire fleet up by about the halfway mark – jut after rounding the seventh Island” said Estate Master’s mainsheet hand, Darren Jones. In the strengthening breeze the yacht went on to claim victory in the race, finishing ahead of all other 36 competing yachts.

The Farr 40 continued their winning form on Day Two of the Championship, taking a bullet in the first windward-leeward race conducted for the PHS division. Two more races later, finishing sixth and fourth on PHS consecutively, the Farr 40 placed seventh overall for the Championship.

“We had to carry a ‘did not compete’ in the overall PHS results, as we chose to do the Seven Islands Race rather than the PHS passage race on Day One” said Darren Jones. “But we had a great time, there were a lot of other boats around the same size and speed as Estate Master, so it was a fairly competitive event for us.”

Full results from the SSORC can be found here: http://www.topyacht.net.au/results/2011/ssorc/phs/SGrp2.htm

The next event on the Farr 40 calendar will be the Rolex Trophy One Design Series being hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia from 9 – 11 December. This event will count towards the Farr 40 Australian Circuit point-score. Further information is available on the Farr 40 website: http://www.farr40.asn.au/calendar/rolex-trophy